Travel News: November 21, 2017

Conde Nast Traveler reports, now you can use TSA Pre with All Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Finnair, Korean Air, and the charter airline Contour Aviation.

Accepting TSA Pre is done on an airline level, and it’s not as easy as just deciding to sign up. Airlines are required to meet TSA Security requirements and upgrade their reservation system to sync with the Secure Flight prescreening system. That’s why not all airlines support the program. For instance, I was able to use TSA Pre earlier this year flying out of SFO to Italy on Lufthansa, but a few months later when I went to Scotland on WOW I had to go through traditional security at literally the exact same gate in the airport.

NH Hotel Group confirmed on Monday it had received a possible takeover offer from rival Spanish hotel group Grupo Barcelo in a deal that could create the biggest hotel group in Spain.

Grupo Barcelo, which has over 230 hotels in 21 countries, proposed having a 60 percent in the shared group and a majority on the board in the unsolicited non-binding expression of interest, NH said in a statement to the Spanish stock exchange.

Nothing, it seems, not even President Trump’s “America first” rhetoric and insistence on banning travelers from certain countries, can stop the steadily rising flow of tourists to New York City.

The city’s tourism promotion agency, NYC & Company, estimates that the number of visitors will increase again this year, to a record 61.8 million, from 60.5 million in 2016, an increase of slightly more than 2 percent. That would make 2017 the eighth straight year in which tourism hit a new high, NYC & Company said.

But the relentless influx has not stopped city officials from trying to dream up ways to attract even more tourists. Their latest global campaign, dubbed True York City, is scheduled to begin on Monday with ads appearing in airports, subways and at bus stops around the world, as well as on thousands of LinkNYC screens across the city.

Aer Lingus has set its sights on Seattle, saying that the city will become its newest U.S. destination.

The Irish carrier will begin flying there 18, offering four flights a week to its main hub in Dublin on 265-seat Airbus A330 aircraft.

Seattle becomes the latest U.S. airport to land new service on fast-growing Aer Lingus. And, for Seattle-Tacoma International, the new Dublin services add a new destination to the airport’s non-stop flight options.

Subscribe and get my free ebook!

Subscribe to the LandLopers newsletter and get a free copy of my new book, "My Favorite 50 Travel Photos."

By: Matt Long

Matt has a true passion for travel. As someone who has a bad case of the travel bug, Matt travels the world in order to share tips on where to go, what to see and how to experience the best the world has to offer.
Also follow Matt on Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus.